Rotterdam Business School
Executive Master of Business
Rotterdam Business School
Administration
Rotterdam Business School
Rotterdam Business School
T E R D I S C I P L I N A R Y ÂŹ I N T E G R I T Y ÂŹ I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Master Programmes
04
Summary
05
Personal masterpiece
Our Executive MBA
What skills are
in brief
required of today’s managers?
Our Executive MBA in brief Combining expertise, experience, personalities and schools of thought leads to new insights and unprecedented changes. That is what you can expect from our MBA programme. Together with our students we create ‘communities of practice’. You learn as part of a team, analysing each other’s business cases, visiting inspiring organisations and applying what you have learned directly to your current work situation.
Our style can best be characterised as sensible, unambiguous and practice-based. Our outlook is essentially global – we work with inspiring lecturers from both the Netherlands and abroad, benefiting from input from companies and other organisations based in Rotterdam, an internationallyoriented and multicultural port city.
Our MBA graduates have developed from being specialists to generalists. They possess integral knowledge of business processes and are able to operate on a strategic management level within an international environment.
Management as a personal masterpiece
Result
Rotterdam
Communities of Practice and Action Learning
Personal Development Programme
Programme
Duration, Admissions and Investment
You establish your own individual learning goals and areas for development. A personal development coach assists you in this process and evaluates whether you are on track to achieve your goals.
Our Executive MBA programme is based on an integral approach to the themes of Business, People and Technology: a broad and interrelated survey of issues that affect the external environment of an organisation (Business), the internal organisation (People) and technological developments (Technology). This is supplemented by electives and supporting modules for personal development. The programme culminates in a final thesis project.
The Executive MBA programme has several start dates each year and lasts 22 months. The language of instruction is English. To be admitted you must have a bachelor degree (or the equivalent thereof) and three years of relevant management experience. The tuition fee for the entire programme, not including study materials, is € 18,500.
Personal competency development is a central theme of our MBA programme. It starts during the intake process, when we ask potential students to clearly indicate their own level and goals. But we also ask you what you can contribute. We draw up a ‘learning contract’ that establishes those aspects you wish to develop and what others can learn from you. The end product is heightened self-awareness. This approach may be confrontational, but it is exceptionally informative and effective, and you are guided through the entire learning process by your personal coach and manager.
Today’s manager must be able to acquire knowledge in a flexible fashion, be versatile and capable of considering matters critically from a bird’s eye view. At the same time, today’s manager must strive to achieve a practical translation of ‘softer’ values like integrity, truth, reflection, market relevance, interdisciplinary entrepreneurship and social responsibility. These challenges call for a different type of manager, a manager who dares to be vulnerable, has learned to think outside the box and who can use personality to achieve success. This is what the Executive MBA programme at Rotterdam Business School teaches you.
Communities of Practice (CoP) play an important role in our MBA programme. Together with fellow students, you assume responsibility for acquiring the knowledge needed to solve problems and the personal development this requires. Together you discover the solution to the puzzle. We call this type of synergy Action Learning, which can be expressed in the formula L = P x Q, where Learning is the result of the knowledge we provide (Programmed knowledge) multiplied by questions posed by students based on insight (insightful Questioning). The result is the possibility to achieve genuine improvement, depth and creativity.
When is vulnerability a strength?
04
05
Executive Master of Business Administration ¬ Our Executive MBA in brief
Rotterdam Business School “Rotterdam Business School offers inspiration for a lifetime in a world of opportunities.” In 1966, representatives from various Rotterdam companies laid the foundation for this motto by establishing the first Business Administration Bachelor’s Degree programme in the Netherlands. Since then, the Rotterdam Business School has been at the forefront of innovating and developing professional study programmes on a Bachelor and Master level. In addition to the Executive MBA programme, we also offer three one-year master’s programmes: Master in Consultancy and Entrepreneurship, Master in Finance and Accounting and Master in Logistics Management.
Rotterdam University
Rotterdam University (a University of Applied Sciences) is a leading and practice-based knowledge institute where more than 27,000 students work towards developing knowledge and skills. This institute has a strong bond with the city of Rotterdam as well as the region. This is expressed in a variety of ways, including the typical Rotterdam mentality and working method: pragmatic, solution-oriented and enterprising. Students acquire competencies that are not only relevant for the region, but can also be applied
anywhere in the world. A continuous exchange of knowledge takes place with the regional business community, with the latter not only taking advantage of the knowledge that we offer but also actively contributing to the institute. There is intensive contact with the regional business sector based on the facilitation of mutual learning and development. ‘Exceed expectations’ is the motto of the University. We encourage our students to aim a little higher and achieve more than they believe is possible.
Can intuition serve as a strong argument?
Programme Business, People and Technology
Personal competencies
Our Executive MBA programme revolves around three central themes. The ‘Business’ theme covers the external environment of an organisation, while the ‘People’ theme focuses on the internal organisation and, finally, the ‘Technology’ theme deals with the influence of technological developments on organisations. Together these themes provide an integral overview of the challenges facing today’s managers. Naturally we also explore ways in which these three themes influence one another.
Each core theme includes supporting modules such as Advanced Statistics, Critical Thinking and Argument Analysis and Research Methodology. We also offer elective modules to enable you to explore a specific subject or area in detail. Your preferences are in line with your Personal Development Programme, which serves as your ‘manual’ throughout the MBA programme and is based on your individual competencies.
The lectures and learning processes are tailored to enabling you to achieve your goals. That is why you are asked to determine your own individual learning goals and areas for development. Together with a personal development coach and in various groups, you work towards achieving those skills and competencies. The plan is also used to evaluate the choices you have made during your MBA studies.
Business
People
International Business Management & Strategies
Management of Human Assets
Management of Technology
Strategic Management Accounting
Change Management
Business Intelligence Concepts
Technology
Electives: Corporate Finance Credit Management
Electives: Management of Control Business Ethics and Politics
Electives: Knowledge Management Project Management Quality Management
Advanced Statistics
Critical Thinking and Argument Analysis
Research Methodology
Final Thesis Project
Personal Development Programme
06
06
07
Exceed Expectations
07
Programme
Why choose Rotterdam
Central themes and personal
Business School?
competencies
CONTENTS Master of Business Administration
Are you a modern manager? Self-knowledge and the willingness to self-reflect are essential to modern management, in which success is strongly dependent on personality, vision and values. In other words, your performance as a manager is inextricably linked to your own personality - which could very well be your greatest strength or your greatest obstacle to further development. Working with fellow managers, you can learn to recognise each other’s strengths and weaknesses as you
strive to fulfil your full management potential. Your focus will become sharper and clearer when you follow the Executive MBA degree programme at Rotterdam Business School, an institute of higher education that believes in collective intelligence and in recognising the value of vulnerability. The result will be unprecedented personal growth, making an invaluable contribution to your Âdevelopment as a modern manager.
Our Executive MBA in brief
Our MBA graduates have developed from being specialists to generalists. They possess integral knowledge of business processes and are able to operate on a strategic management level within an international environment.
Result
Personal Development Programme
You establish your own individual learning goals and areas for development. A personal development coach assists you in this process and evaluates whether you are on track to achieve your goals.
Combining expertise, experience, personalities and schools of thought leads to new insights and unprecedented changes. That is what you can expect from our MBA programme. Together with our students we create ‘communities of practice’. You learn as part of a team, analysing each other’s business cases, visiting inspiring organisations and applying what you have learned directly to your current work situation.
Our style can best be characterised as sensible, unambiguous and practice-based. Our outlook is essentially global – we work with inspiring lecturers from both the Netherlands and abroad, benefiting from input from companies and other organisations based in Rotterdam, an internationallyoriented and multicultural port city.
Rotterdam
Communities of Practice and Action Learning
Programme
Duration, Admissions and Investment
Our Executive MBA programme is based on an integral approach to the themes of Business, People and Technology: a broad and interrelated survey of issues that affect the external environment of an organisation (Business), the internal organisation (People) and technological developments (Technology). This is supplemented by electives and supporting modules for personal development. The programme culminates in a final thesis project.
04 Executive Master of Business Administration ¬ Our Executive MBA in brief
The Executive MBA programme has several start dates each year and lasts 22 months. The language of instruction is English. To be admitted you must have a bachelor degree (or the equivalent thereof) and three years of relevant management experience. The tuition fee for the entire programme, not including study materials, is € 18,500.
Management as a personal masterpiece Today’s manager must be able to acquire knowledge in a flexible fashion, be versatile and capable of considering matters critically from a bird’s eye view. At the same time, today’s manager must strive to achieve a practical translation of ‘softer’ values like integrity, truth, reflection, market relevance, interdisciplinary entrepreneurship and social responsibility. These challenges call for a different type of manager, a manager who dares to be vulnerable, has learned to think outside the box and who can use personality to achieve success. This is what the Executive MBA programme at Rotterdam Business School teaches you.
Personal competency development is a central theme of our MBA programme. It starts during the intake process, when we ask potential students to clearly indicate their own level and goals. But we also ask you what you can contribute. We draw up a ‘learning contract’ that establishes those aspects you wish to develop and what others can learn from you. The end product is heightened self-awareness. This approach may be confrontational, but it is exceptionally informative and effective, and you are guided through the entire learning process by your personal coach and manager.
Communities of Practice (CoP) play an important role in our MBA programme. Together with fellow students, you assume responsibility for acquiring the knowledge needed to solve problems and the personal development this requires. Together you discover the solution to the puzzle. We call this type of synergy Action Learning, which can be expressed in the formula L = P x Q, where Learning is the result of the knowledge we provide (Programmed knowledge) multiplied by questions posed by students based on insight (insightful Questioning). The result is the possibility to achieve genuine improvement, depth and creativity.
When is vulnerability a strength? 05
Rotterdam Business School “Rotterdam Business School offers inspiration for a lifetime in a world of opportunities.” In 1966, representatives from various Rotterdam companies laid the foundation for this motto by establishing the first Business Administration Bachelor’s Degree programme in the Netherlands. Since then, the Rotterdam Business School has been at the forefront of innovating and developing professional study programmes on a Bachelor and Master level. In addition to the Executive MBA programme, we also offer three one-year master’s programmes: Master in Consultancy and Entrepreneurship, Master in Finance and Accounting and Master in Logistics Management.
Rotterdam University
Rotterdam University (a University of Applied Sciences) is a leading and practice-based knowledge institute where more than 27,000 students work towards developing knowledge and skills. This institute has a strong bond with the city of Rotterdam as well as the region. This is expressed in a variety of ways, including the typical Rotterdam mentality and working method: pragmatic, solution-oriented and enterprising. Students acquire competencies that are not only relevant for the region, but can also be applied
anywhere in the world. A continuous exchange of knowledge takes place with the regional business community, with the latter not only taking advantage of the knowledge that we offer but also actively contributing to the institute. There is intensive contact with the regional business sector based on the facilitation of mutual learning and development. ‘Exceed expectations’ is the motto of the University. We encourage our students to aim a little higher and achieve more than they believe is possible.
Can intuition serve as a strong argument? 06
Programme Business, People and Technology
Personal competencies
Our Executive MBA programme revolves around three central themes. The ‘Business’ theme covers the external environment of an organisation, while the ‘People’ theme focuses on the internal organisation and, finally, the ‘Technology’ theme deals with the influence of technological developments on organisations. Together these themes provide an integral overview of the challenges facing today’s managers. Naturally we also explore ways in which these three themes influence one another.
Each core theme includes supporting modules such as Advanced Statistics, Critical Thinking and Argument Analysis and Research Methodology. We also offer elective modules to enable you to explore a specific subject or area in detail. Your preferences are in line with your Personal Development Programme, which serves as your ‘manual’ throughout the MBA programme and is based on your individual competencies.
The lectures and learning processes are tailored to enabling you to achieve your goals. That is why you are asked to determine your own individual learning goals and areas for development. Together with a personal development coach and in various groups, you work towards achieving those skills and competencies. The plan is also used to evaluate the choices you have made during your MBA studies.
Business
People
Technology
International Business Management & Strategies
Management of Human Assets
Management of Technology
Strategic Management Accounting
Change Management
Business Intelligence Concepts
Electives: Corporate Finance Credit Management
Electives: Management of Control Business Ethics and Politics
Electives: Knowledge Management Project Management Quality Management
Advanced Statistics
Critical Thinking and Argument Analysis
Research Methodology
Final Thesis Project
Personal Development Programme
07
¬ T R U T H ¬ M A R K E T R E L E VA N C E ¬ R E F L E C T I O N ¬ I N
The three primary modules and accompanying elective modules: 1. International Business Management & Strategies A continuously changing international market offers organisations challenging opportunities to broaden sales areas, produce products as costconsciously as possible, develop a global brand and/or profit from expansion. The key to successful international business lies in how you deal with cultural differences. You are confronted with a wide variety of values, norms, tastes, preferences and business processes. The careful formulation of strategies – from special offers to measures aimed at achieving organisational goals – is essential in such a dynamic international environment. Strategic Management Accounting This module is based on the economic organisation theory in which the focus of accountancy is on decision-making, performance
08
evaluation and providing information to facilitate the management of your organisation. An important part of your study is linked to your daily work. This practical approach makes it possible to combine our MBA programme with a full-time job.
The Change Management module explains various approaches, strategies and models. You work in a goal-oriented fashion on ‘change skills’, with the ultimate goal of effectively applying them in practice within your organisation.
Elective modules ¬ Corporate Finance ¬ Credit Management
Elective modules ¬ Management of Control ¬ Business Ethics and Politics
2. Management of Human Assets
3. Management of Technology Technological developments cause major economic changes, not only for global economies but also for companies and individuals. New markets and organisations develop and internal and external communication becomes increasingly more important. This module gives you an insight into the effect of the technological revolution on business processes, organisational structures and individual lifestyles. You learn to anticipate new technologies that will affect the continuity of an organisation and, as part of that, learn to select the right information from available sources and organise the provision of information as effectively as possible.
In this module, you gain insight into the most important asset of an organisation: its people. We start by discussing individual influences on people’s behaviour, such as perception and motivation. This is followed by an in-depth look at the effect of groups and leadership on individual behaviour and company culture. Change Management One of the most difficult challenges for a manager is implementing changes and gaining acceptance for them. You must be able to empathise and become genuinely involved. After all, even a simple instrumental change can ignite fierce reactions.
T E R D I S C I P L I N A R Y ¬ I N T E G R I T Y ¬ I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Business Intelligence Concepts As a manager, you require various forms of information in order to make strategic decisions. This information is often distributed throughout the organisation and recorded in a variety of formats, including spreadsheets, client databases and websites. The question is how to properly collect, arrange, analyse and present all of this information. Business Intelligence Concepts is a popular and strong concept that uses various techniques to translate data into relevant information. Organisations often use the results to keep close track of important performance indicators and to fine-tune business operations. In this module, you learn how to design measurable variables in order to obtain the right information for decision-making. After all, the right tools and models will enable you to gain a competitive advantage.
change. We introduce you to critical thinking techniques, lateral thinking and mind mapping by means of various methods, including group assignments, workshops, panels, simulation games and role playing.
Elective modules ¬ Knowledge Management ¬ Project Management ¬ Quality Management
Advanced Statistics Quantitative research involves collecting large amounts of statistical information. In the Advanced Statistics course, you learn to apply statistical methods and translate statistical information into relevant information for the organisation.
Supporting modules Critical Thinking and Argument Analysis In this module, you learn to reflect critically on a discipline or subject, view matters from various perspectives and identify connections. By not perceiving something as self-evident, you can arrive at new insights that can lead to improvements and
Research Methodology Important organisational problems demand thorough research. In this module, you learn to use various research techniques and apply the corresponding methods. After completing this module, you will be able to formulate a clear, welldefined research question and carry out the corresponding research. You will know how to successfully formulate a research topic, draw up a critical overview of literature, select a research method and strategy, choose random samples, use secondary information, collect primary information using various methods and analyse both quantitative and qualitative data.
Final Thesis Project
design, model and conceptualise, as well as formulate a vision, policy and strategy. The research and thesis components should preferably be carried out in co-operation with the organisation for which you work. This part of the programme entails identifying an organisational problem, formulating a research question, setting up a research project and conducting the research. A thorough analysis is carried out to arrive at effective recommendations for your company. You defend your thesis to the lecturers and, if possible, representatives from your organisation.
Lecturers The majority of lecturers in our Executive MBA programme have an academic background. We have chosen individuals with a well-balanced mix of academic knowledge and practical experience gained in the workplace. An lecturer must be able to examine recent developments in professional practice while acting as a ‘source of knowledge’, knowledge that is important for effectively tackling the problems that face today’s managers. Our MBA programme challenges lecturers to ‘push themselves to the limit’, thereby creating the best possible setting for knowledge development.
Your final thesis project brings together all the essential competencies of the Executive MBA programme. You are required to demonstrate that you are able to
09 Executive Master of Business Administration ¬ The programme
Study load
Admission and registration
Contact
Feasibility is given top priority in the Executive MBA programme at the Rotterdam Business School. This Master’s Degree programme is less than two years long, 22 months to be exact. The average study load is 15 to 20 hours a week (including contact hours). The greatest advantage of this study programme is that it relates directly to your everyday work; it covers your company issues and situation and your role in these on a day-to-day basis. In other words, it is relevant to the management profession, is completely up-to-date and is scientifically founded, so you can critically analyse problems and set to work with practical and innovative solutions. It is also possible to break down the MBA programme into sections if this would better suit your work schedule and social life.
The Executive MBA programme at the Rotterdam Business School has several start dates each year and lasts a total of 22 months. The language of instruction is English.
Rotterdam Business School Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences Kralingse Zoom 91 3063 ND Rotterdam The Netherlands
Tuition fee
We expect potential students to have at least three years of relevant management experience and a bachelor degree or the equivalent thereof (i.e. based on a combination of education and experience). Self-made managers without a bachelor degree who have acquired their knowledge in practice are also welcome to apply. An initial interview is held with every candidate, followed by an intake meeting with the programme manager and one of the MBA lecturers. The reason for this is to determine whether a GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) and/or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is required prior to admission.
The total tuition fee for the entire programme, not including study materials, is €18,500. The Rotterdam Business School also offers various payment arrangements.
For more information or to request a registration form please contact Marielle Elenbaas, Account Manager, Graduate Department.
10 Executive Master of Business Administration ¬ Admission and registration
Postbus 25035 3001 HA Rotterdam The Netherlands Contact person: Marielle Elenbaas Account Manager Graduate Department +31 (0)6 2150 2419 infomba@hr.nl www.rotterdambusinessschool.nl
11
Rotterdam Business School
Rotterdam Business School
Rotterdam Business School
Rotterdam Business School
¬ T R U T H ¬ M A R K E T R E L E VA N C E ¬ R E F L E C T I O N ¬ I N